HELP
Was hired at a clinic to fill in when staff was short. Agreed to 20-24 hours per week at certain salary. Quit previous job to fulfill these obligations. Have been making agreed upon salary since the end of December. Two days ago, my boss calls me in her office, admits to 'being sorry she really didn't tell me this before" but "I cannot pay you that salary anymore...it was meant to be temporary as you are a moonlighter" She says I am doing "great" and "hopes I stay" but yet is asking me to take a 13.00/per hour DECREASE! I applied for and been approved for a mortgage based on my salary! What recourse to I have and is this legal??? I am feeling blindsided! We had a verbal agreement, nothing in writing

An employer can change your pay rate at any time in advance of those hours.

It is unfair... but not illegal.

It's legal in the sense that no laws prevent an employer from reducing an employee's compensation.

If she hired you full well knowing that she was going to substantially reduce your pay down the road, you may have a civil law suit to bring for detrimental reliance. You'll need to speak to an attorney about that. You'll also want to consider whether the cost and time of pursuing litigation is a better option than immediately starting up a job search and finding a new opportunity at a higher rate of pay.

I definitely think what this company did absolutely stinks!

Thanks for your responses.....of course it wasn't what I wanted to hear....now I have to figure out how to fight it....beleive me, I won't find that salary...she offered it out of desperation....and I went for it!

Don't agree to the salary reduction,be advised they could can you.
JoeC

Thanks for response~
Could you clarify please? Are you saying "don't agree to salary reduction" meaning that I should not agree to it and that as a result I could be fired?

I am preparing a document to state why I am worth it, and several things that I did in relation to that salary....that could be viewed as 'detrimental reliance' thanks to previous responder....I got an excellent evaluation from the boss and the rest of the staff, so the reduction has nothing to do with me not doing my job......any more insights would be so helpful...thanks!!!

Negotiating salary is legal,there comes a point if you push to hard,or make a demand.
That you can be terminated,I would suggest contacting an attorney and discuss salary negotiations. They may give you some pointers at no charge.
You may not get it accomplished at one meeting. If your preparing a document make sure you explain why it is to the company's benefit to raise your salary. Make sure they are aware of any coast savings you may have made. Basically you want to make it look as it is to the employers benefit to increase your salary. He is not interested in your bills,he has his own,the biggest being payroll.
JoeC

I am not negotiating a raise, I am negotiating to keepthe salary I was promised when I was hired. They want to lower it , but I was apparently [I]worth the salary when I was hired, and have fulfilled my end of the verbal contract to work 20-24 hours per week, and have gotten excellent evals to boot.

So if I push to keep my salary, you are saying that they may just do it [can me as it were] because they really don't want to pay the original amount?

If that happens.........is that wrongful termination?

So if I push to keep my salary, you are saying that they may just do it [can me as it were] because they really don't want to pay the original amount?

If that happens.........is that wrongful termination?

What would be wrongful? I don't see you as being in some protected class.

I am not negotiating a raise, I am negotiating to keepthe salary I was promised when I was hired. They want to lower it [?

I understand that but don't go in their saying you want the salary to stay the same. If it was me I would go in their negotiate higher.The boss is going to go lower. If the salary stays where it's at your happy.
You go in and,say I want the salary at current level it will definitely go down. I don't think they would "can" you unless you piss them off. You don't want to go in and start muscling them. The worse that could happen is they cut the salary,and refuse to negotiate. Which they want to do anyway.
JoeC

Scott`whatever---you sound rude enough to ignore and obviously haven't read the whole thread....get a life and look up what wrongful termination is

Joec--thanks --what you said makes a lot of sense...I had thought about documenting why I was worth more but wasn't sure how that would go over...now I see how it could really help...and that using muscle will not
Appreciate your insight

bsartell, I think you are the one who needs to read up on what wrongful termination is.

A wrongful termination exists ONLY when you are fired for a reason prohibited by law. If you "refuse" the decrease and you are fired, that is NOT wrongful termination.

I think trying to negotiate a higher salary in the hopes of being left at the same rate is incredibly foolish and is quite likely to lead to your termination, but if you want to be foolish that's your decision. It will NOT be a wrongful term if that happens, regardless of what you may think.

Are they now offering you a permanent position which is the same as the temporary position you held? You said yourself they needed you to fill in. This implyes a temporary situation. If they are now offering you a permanent position it is not the same job.

I am not being offered a permanent position, so it is the same job...I am being asked to do nothing different...essentially to commit to certain # of hours...which was agreed upon at time of hire. I agreed to leave another job in order to fulfill that and have e-mail documentation that it was hoped that I stay for a very, very long time. No mention that at some random point the salary would then be decreased. As an FYI, my immediate boss is just as shocked as I am as she is the one who recruited me.

Why is this not a breach of a verbal contract---which seems to fit under wrongful termination--although I have not been fired ....yet

A breach of contract and a wrongful term are two different things.

A breach of contract is the violation of an agreement between two parties. A wrongful termination is the violation of a law.

You will have to discuss with an attorney in your state whether you can make a breach of contract claim fly. I'm not saying you do have such a claim and I'm not saying you don't. I simply don't know whether or not, in your state, the agreement you have can be held to be contractual. However, I do know that to qualify as a wrongful term, there has to have been a specific law or a public policy that has been violated. A contract breach, even if one exists, generally isn't going to be enough to meet that standard.

In any case, you have not been terminated, so it can't be wrongful

Thank you ! I appreciate your time...and these are good things to ask an attorney...and I have contacted one already...

Thanks to all that helped me yesterday...I am happy to report that I prepared a document stating all of the reasons I was worth MORE than what I was making...and was allowed to go over EVERY point~ and she listened and GUESS WHAT????? I was given the salary I am currently making...nothing changed.....not even by a penny!

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR ADVICE

Well looks like I batted that one out the park !:cool: OH! Whats that I hear? SSSWish nothing but net.
JoeC

I'm glad it worked out for you. But I want to emphasize for the benefit of other posters who may be reading this, it could just have easily have gone the other way. I still do not recommend the action in question as a general rule.